Biden-appointed judge throws wrench in Trump State Dept’s bid to deport pro-Palestinian protester

A Biden-appointed federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration’s efforts to deport a pro-Palestinian student protester accused of Hamas sympathies is likely unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz, appointed to the bench by the Biden administration in 2023, found that Secretary of State Marco Rubio likely acted unconstitutionally when revoking Mahmoud Khalil’s residency status under a federal provision that allows for the deportation of non-citizens deemed to be a foreign policy threat, according to court documents. However, the judge stopped short of ordering Mahmoud to be released from custody.

“Rather, the issue now before the Court has been this: does the Constitution allow the Secretary of State to use Section 1227, as applied through the determination, to try to remove the Petitioner from the United States?” Farbiarz wrote, referring to the section of federal law that contains the removal provision.

“The Court’s answer: likely not,” the judge said.

Farbiarz ruled Wednesday that the Secretary of State never explained whether Khalil’s activism “affected U.S. relations with any other country,” and as a result, the department’s use of the Section 1227 provision was likely “unconstitutionally vague.”

But while refraining from ordering Khalil to be released, the federal judge also requested additional information on the Trump administration’s assertions that Khalil omitted pertinent information on his green card application, according to court documents.

While Khalil’s court challenge continues on, an immigration judge in Louisiana ruled in April that the administration is able to deport him from the U.S. Khalil remains in an immigration detention center in Louisiana, an ICE detainee database shows. He is challenging his immigration court case in Louisiana while also challenging his ongoing detention by the government in New Jersey.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Khalil — a Syrian-born Algerian national who became the face of the anti-Israel protests at Columbia University throughout 2024 — on March 8.

Khalil’s arrest and the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to see him deported have drawn backlash from activists and a growing cohort of Democratic lawmakers who argue that the actions are an infringement on his free speech rights. However, federal prosecutors argue that it’s well within the authority of the State Department to revoke the legal status of any foreign national whose presence in the U.S. is deemed a foreign policy threat.

The Department of Homeland (DHS) has maintained that Khalil’s anti-Israel activism at Columbia University encroached into pro-Hamas activity.

“On March 9, 2025, in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism, and in coordination with the Department of State, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student,” DHS said in a public statement following his apprehension. “Khalil led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”

The administration has since pointed out that Khalil was not completely forthcoming on his U.S. visa application.

The Columbia student did not disclose that he previously worked as a political affairs officer for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in his application for legal permanent residency, according to prosecutors. The notorious UN agency, which has long been accused of connections to Hamas, allegedly employed numerous individuals that participated in the Oct. 7 massacre that left roughly 1,200 people dead.

In addition to not mentioning his past employment at UNRWA, prosecutors say he also did not disclose his past role as a programs manager for the Syria Office in the British Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, or his affiliation with the anti-Israel student group Columbia University Apartheid Divest.

Khalil’s arrest is part of the Trump administration’s overall goal of cracking down on alleged pro-Hamas and anti-Semitic activity at universities across the country.

DHS has also arrested Moshen Mahdawi of Columbia University, Badar Khan Suri of Georgetown University, Alireza Doroudi of the University of Alabama, Rumesya Ozturk of Tufts University and  Leeqa Kordia of Bergen County Career Advancement Training, Inc, with most of these individuals either being temporarily released or choosing to self deport. The administration has similarly accused them of activity deemed to be a threat to U.S. foreign policy.

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